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Have you ever wondered how you manage to fit work into your all ready jam-packed schedule?

I’ve been on vacation this week – madly checking things off my to do list, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. I’m extremely happy to have the extra time off as I realize it is a luxury that not all enjoy, but it still doesn’t seem to be quite enough. I’m not sure if I’m trying to cram too much stuff in the allotted space or I’m not as efficient as I need to be.

I’m still rising early, but I decided to cut myself some slack and get up at 6:30 a.m. instead of 5:15 a.m. It is so much easier to get out of bed when I know daylight is at least right around the corner. Rising at 5:15 in the middle of winter simply brings a level of insanity to my life that I would like to live without. Even though I try to trick myself by setting my clock 15 minutes fast, my body tells me different.

I used to get up at that hour and hop on my exercise bike. It was nice to get it out of the way even if the workout may not have been as strenuous as an afternoon appointment since I’m pretty sure I slept through half of it. It was still better than talking myself out of activity at 7 p.m. with a full belly from dinner.

Now I use the time to write. My house is quiet and I’m alone with my thoughts, and somehow I need this more than a little aerobic activity. It does mean that I have to figure out another way to carve out 40 minutes from the end of my day to get some exercise. I can’t skip it altogether and expect to stay in the jeans that hang in my closet.

I suppose it all comes down to choices – like everything else in my life. We’d all like to think that we can have it all, but the longer I live the more convinced I am that it can’t all be at the same time, at least if sanity is in that list of priorities.

Sure, I want a clean house, a firm muscular body, a demanding career, lots of extra money, time to pursue my hobbies, opportunities to enjoy friends and family and moments of solitude. The list is exhaustive.

As I contemplate my goals for the coming year, all of this weighs heavily. What is the right balance? I don’t think that one person can provide the answer since priorities from one person to the next vary so greatly. It is a matter of defining what is most important to the individual and then standing strong to our personal convictions, which can be equally as challenging when we know that time is simply ticking away.